European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 11, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 8 a the stars and stripes wednesday december 11,1991 fall of the soviet Union soviets seek to allay nuclear fears new Alliance claims firm hold on weapons by John Thor Dahlburg the los Angeles times Moscow a the men who signed the soviet Union s political obituary tried monday to reassure president Bush and a concerned world that the awesome destructive forces of the soviet nuclear Arsenal will remain in sure hands. A there is no threat of the spread of nuclear arms there is no threat of destabilization a a said Andrei Kozarev the russian republics foreign minister. An aide to soviet president Mikhail s. Gorbachev also sought to provide Security assurances saying that for now at least his Boss remains the country so commander in chief a with his Finger on the soviet nuclear trigger. But one head of the new slavic Commonwealth which was founded sunday to supplant the soviet Union said a a three Button Quot system will be instituted to give russian federation president Boris n. Yeltsin Ukraine president Leonid m. Kravchuk and byelorussian Leader Stanislav Shushkevich exclusive and joint command of the soviet Arsenal. For military planners and politicians alike the shift of nuclear weapons control out of the Kremlin is a pre occupying development. The Bush administration has reacted with concern even alarm. A while there a Opportunity there a also peat danger associated with these transformations a Secretary of state James a. Baker Iii said sunday. A we really do run the risk in my View at least of seeing a situation created there not unlike what we have seen in Yugoslavia but with. Nuclear weapons thrown in and that could be an extraordinarily dangerous situation for Europe and for the rest of the  Kozarev said monday that after agreeing on formation of the Commonwealth during a two Day meeting with Kravchuk and Shushkevich Yeltsin telephoned Bush overnight to Promise there would be no dispersal of the  27,000 nuclear missile warheads and other charges possessed by the soviet armed forces. Soviet nuclear weapon bases the rapid disintegration of the soviet Central government has raised concern in the Bush administration about the safety of its 27,000 nuclear weapons mostly stored in Russia the Ukraine byelorussian and Kazakhstan. A Parto the russian Republic a we greatly respect president Bush and believe this is necessary because we Are talking Here about a nuclear superpower a Kozarev said. It was Only later that Yeltsin telephoned Gorbachev to inform him of the creation of the a Commonwealth of Independent states a Kozarev said. Bush and other Western leaders have been pressing for Security guarantees in Exchange for ultimate recognition of full Independence for republics such As the Ukraine. And even it Moscow a political role collapses . Officials want to be Able to keep dealing with a a pc enter on nuclear weapons. A your position has been that we would prefer to see the nuclear responsibilities stay under a single unified command a White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwa Ter said monday. A their safety can Best be provided for through a unified  As for Yeltsin he a told president Bush that he was equally concerned about the safety of nuclear weapons and assured us that the matter would be handled responsibly a Fitzwater said. In Koz Yreva swords Bush reacted a a positively to the guarantees. The Russia Ukraine byelorussian agreement Calls in general terms for those republics to a preserve a unified command of a common military strategic space and United control Over nuclear  but one of the greatest mysteries of the Accord reached at vis Kuli in byelorussian is How that a United command actually would function. The bulk of the soviet nuclear Arsenal is deployed in Yeltsin a Russia but there Are weapons systems such As Long Range nuclear missiles strategic bombers and tactical nuclear charges in Ukraine and byelorussian As Well As a fourth Republic Kazakhstan. Gorbachev a Deputy spokesman Alexander a. Lik Hotal said monday night that a at this Point the nuclear arms Are controlled by the president of the soviet Union and the general staff of the soviet military  but Kravchuk said such a state of affairs would not last. According to the ukrainian Leader Gorbachev who May have no Job left under the new Commonwealth will be stripped of the soviet equivalent of the a football a what americans Call the system of codes and electronics needed to launch a nuclear strike. In the United states the president controls  fear they re facing apocalypse now by Alison Mitchell new Day Moscow a the astrologers show up on television near Midnight to read the daily Horoscope and give out investment advice to fledgling soviet entrepreneurs. But sometimes the seers veer off onto the theme that is pre occupying everyone these cold dark Slushy Days when the next coup will come. The superstar of soviet Star readers Pavel Globa predicted that the Putsch would not happen in february but in March. That was reassurance of sorts since politicians Are saying the coup win take place by the end of this month. A there Are some who expect a new coup. Perhaps they Are even organizing one a soviet president Mikhail s. Gorbachev told an interviewer from the weekly Literat Maya gazeta. The fear of apocalypse is everywhere born out of escalating chaos. The leaders of the slavic republics Russia the Ukraine and byelorussian have pronounced the nation dead. The communist party Nas disbanded. Even the soviet olympic committee is being shut. The new demigods such As russian president Boris n. Yeltsin Are dropping off their pedestals. There a nothing left to believe in no ideology no politicians no country no certainties. A people done to like the old system but they also done to like the new system. There a no future a said 17-year-old Tanya Fay Raizen capturing the dismal state of mind in Russia. As temperatures have begun dropping Way below freezing the decay the general collapse and the Short Ages of food gasoline electricity and heat around the former soviet Empire have reached proportions no one dreamed of even a year ago when officials said the situation was As dire As at any time since world War ii. Now is the critical period for Russia and its neighbors a time of Scarcity that could determine the politics of the future. With people already desperate and people done to Tike the old system but they also done to like the new system. There a no  Tanya Fay Raizen 17 Shell shocked by shortages and spiralling prices Motte mailing state Price controls Are now scheduled to vanish on Jan 2. The russian parliament has also approved a value added tax of 28 percent. The moves Are designed to propel Russia toward a free Market and to Stop hyperinflation. They might also end Yeltsin a political career. A Yeltsin and the democrats have lost the support of millions of people a shouted an angry Man demonstrating against the economic plan outside the russian parliament. Gorbachev asked the republics Friday to help mos cow with food. He said that meat butter and sugar u serves in the capital would last Only a few Days an warned that Price decontrol could trigger riots again democratic government. Some of the reformers who walked out of the con Monist party before its final collapse announced a it gently that they were going to turn their a Democrat Reform movement into a political party to try to Ai As a stabilizing Force. A today we have come to a Cata trophic Point a said Vyacheslav Shostakowsky predict ing possible riots. He Tike other liberals pointed with worry to a Rise it Ultra nationalist forces on the right. Alexander Nevi Rov a popular Leningrad television Host has formed political party called ours and agitated in support it russians in the new Independent Baltic states and i support of disgruntled military men. And yet the democratic minded liberals in it Power since the August coup broke the commune party Wallow ineffectually. In months of bickering that have proved themselves As paralysed Over econom plans As Gorbachev a Cabinet was Tor years. Yeltsin and his vice president Alexander Rutsky Are bitterly at Odds. During the election Campaign Rusk Oil a position As a communist and a former a Ghanishan War hero made him a perfect balance for to ticket. But now inherently More conservative the Yeltsin Rutski has spoken out against his president plans to free prices and make a cold Turkey break Wii communist economics. The Liberal press has called Rutski the pos Sib agent of the next coup